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It's a universally accepted formula: Kids + Candy = Hyperactivity.
These days that formula can be altered exponentially — and the new candies in Easter baskets can turn kids into Tasmanian devils.
Caffeinated energy — or "sport" — chocolates, jelly beans, confections, mints and gum have arrived on retailers' shelves, but manufacturers such as Mars and Hershey are quick to point out the products are not intended for children.
The new products include Hershey's ICE BREAKERS energy mints, Jolt gum and mints, BUZZ Bites and Foosh Energy Mints. Some are loaded with sugar; others are sugar-free, but contain ginseng or taurine. And almost all contain caffeine.
Hershey spokesman Kirk Saville said it's clear that Hershey's peppermint and caffeine Energy Mints are not geared to children. The mints are part of the company's new "well-being" line, which includes ICE BREAKERS Restore, flavored with pomegranate and lemonade and packed with zinc and vitamins A, C and E.
"We know consumers are looking for products that enhance their lifestyle and well-being," Saville said. "Energy and renewal are two of the top benefits consumers cite as important."
Mars recently introduced its Snickers Charged bar, which contains peanuts, nougat, caramel, chocolate and B vitamins — plus taurine and 60 milligrams of caffeine, the same products typically found in energy drinks.
In comparison, an 8-ounce soft drink contains 20 to 40 milligrams of caffeine; an 8-ounce coffee, 65 to 120 milligrams; and an 8-ounce energy drink, 72 to 80 milligrams.The Threshold Foundation, a Lancaster nonprofit that promotes children's health and nutrition, said an explosion of caffeine- and sugar-laced energy products is harming children.
Schirlyn Kamara, Threshold's executive director, said the products are marketed to kids and "have 7 teaspoons of sugar and megadoses of caffeine and other supplements and can produce a nasty jolt-and-crash cycle."
Other possible side effects include stomach upset, irritability, heart arrhythmia and changes in blood pressure, Kamara said.
"Higher doses of caffeine can stay in a child's body for up to 12 hours, Kamara said.
Alex Haus, a freshman at Pequea Valley High School, said energy candy hasn't caught on yet, but most of his friends consume a few cans of energy drinks a day.
Haus said he's cut down from three cans to one can per day, at a cost of $1.50 to $3.50 each.
"I switched to SoBe because I think it's more healthy after one of my friends got a kidney infection," Haus said.
Kamara and other critics say candy manufacturers are promoting a stimulus package aimed at children to compete with the highly successful energy-drink industry.
(305) (240) (50) (25) (16) (15) (14) (13) (10) (7) (6) (5) (2) (2) (2)The evolution of the "sports" product began in earnest with Gatorade, a drink that replenished nutrients and rehydrated football players in broiling temperatures at Florida universities in the 1960s.
This led to the current explosion of sports-drink products such as Monster, Full Throttle and industry leader Red Bull: drinks that critics say are caffeine-laced liquids mixed with exotic ingredients designed to buzz, then burn out, those who take them.
The success of the expensive drinks — Red Bull costs more than $6 for a four-pack at a supermarket — has taken a bite out of the sagging candy industry.
From 2001 and 2006, sales of energy drinks rose 400 percent, to $3.23 billion, according to Mintel, a leading market research company. Meanwhile, sales of sugar confectionery dropped by 4 percent.
John Maksel, owner of Edwards Nut & Candy Co., 3519 Columbia Ave., Centerville, received his first shipment of Snickers Charged bars last month.
Maksel said the energy candies are a natural progression of products aimed at the busy lifestyles our culture has developed.
He said candy companies are looking to expand sales to customers who purchase the tiramisu cordials sold at his store.
"Actually, I think the candies are a lot like the chocolate-covered coffee beans I sell," Maksel said.
Maksel also pointed to the growth in the "athletic bar" market — natural and organic health snacks geared to adults who work out — as evidence that the segment is ripe for growth from new products.
From 2002 to 2006, athletic bar sales, with names such as PowerBar, LUNA Bar and Clif Bar, have grown more than 36 percent, according to Mintel.
At the same time, the Jelly Belly Candy Co. has invented Extreme Sport Beans that, like Gatorade, have electrolytes to help an athlete replace lost fluids. But the jelly beans contain plenty of caffeine as well.
The company said the sport beans aren't intended to be a candy, but a "sports-performance product."
Von Hayes, the new coach of the Lancaster Barnstormers, said many players use the newer energy drinks "to give themselves a lift or a boost before a game."
Hayes, who spent 12 years in the major leagues with the Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies and California Angels, said he could "definitely see" baseball players shifting to products such as energy jelly beans, which some say would be a big improvement over chewing tobacco.
"In the last 15 to 20 years, I've seen a lot of changes in this game, some good and some bad," Hayes said. "I'd rather see ballplayers drink a few cups of coffee for a boost rather than consume a lot of sugar or, certainly, some of the illegal substances like amphetamines."
John Osmanski, a 26-year-old entrepreneur in Milwaukee, last year introduced "Crackheads" — chocolate-covered espresso beans. Energy drink companies sell products with names such as Blow and Cocaine.
Cocaine Energy Drink, introduced in September 2006, was recalled in May by its maker, Redux Beverages, after the Food and Drug Administration objected. However, the company altered its marketing language on the cans and re-released the product.
Recently, FDA spokeswoman Kimberly Rawlings told the Wall Street Journal, "We're going to take another look at this product."
Hershey last month stopped production of a new version of ICE BREAKERS in response to criticism from community leaders who said the new mint packets resembled crack cocaine.
The mints were sold in blue or orange pouches, and they bear the Ice Breakers logo, which Philadelphia narcotics police said looked eerily like tiny heat-sealed crack bags sold on drug corners.
Hershey last month said, "The mints were not intended to resemble anything."
Osmanski said Crackheads candy has raised questions in regard to a possible references to illegal drug usage, but, unlike Cocaine or Blow energy drinks, Crackheads isn't marketed to kids or intended to be an alternative to drugs of any kind.
"I will say that the emergence of the Cocaine and Blow energy products is upsetting to myself and my company," Osmanski said.
"These products are definitely over the line and do not serve any beneficial purpose to people that I can see."
Redux founder Jamey Kirby, who introduced Cocaine Energy Drink, told the Wall Street Journal last month that the name is simply a humorous marketing ploy in the saturated energy-drink market.
"Everyone from 15- to 60-year-olds who has a bit of a sense of humor thinks it is funny," he says.
E-mail: pburns@lnpnews.com
